Lawless, Winged, and Unconfined
by Daelena
Summary: Sometimes, when you need to heal, the best possible remedy is to leave town. Sometimes, you need someone along for the ride. Post-Mystic Force. Madison/Daggeron. Rated for language. Now with minor edits.


Lawless, Winged, and Unconfined

 _Disclaimer_ _: I don't own anything. I am just playing in this sandbox for the time being. I'm going to have to give everything._

 _This was an idea I had bouncing around in my brain for a while. It is also my first foray into the Power Ranger universe._

 _Please enjoy this labor of love._

It was the wine's fault, they might have said. Or the lack of sleep and the late hour. Or, even, the mutual responsibility that they had shouldered without even needing to be asked. Or any of the multitude of other reasons that could have prompted their decision.

Except for the one that they shared between them in the midnight hour, when frustrations, tears, and the burden of expectations became too much to be borne alone. That would stay between only them, a covenant that was the foundation of something that grew to be something so much bigger than either could have ever imagined.

But, whatever the reason, the next day, when the sun came up over a small city in California and the magical community that bordered it, they were gone, leaving only letters in their wake. They had made a promise to call and they would because both were responsible like that and knew what they owed to those they left behind. But first, they had to get away and put some distance between them and their past, both shared and separate.

He was the one who had captured the sunrise that first morning, using her trusty handheld camera, as she drove through the long and winding roads that led away from home. It was a cool and beautiful morning, a promising start.

Madison Rocca very rarely trusted people with her camera. It was an extension of herself and, with everything that she had been through, was particularly guarded about it.

Yet she trusted him implicitly with it.

That first morning, she just smiled over at him, when she saw that he had the camera trained on her, and stuck in one of the many mix tapes that Vida had made for her over the years. Seconds later, the sounds of _One Week_ by the Barenaked Ladies filled the car and the humor of the song, given their current situation, struck both of them. Her laugh was throaty, his rich.

Maybe he wasn't as familiar with the music of her world, but that was fine. Madison was not Vida and wouldn't be scandalized by that deficit.

Daggeron, at least, was willing to learn. She had joked that maybe it was good that she was teaching him and not her sister because Vida could be a force to be reckoned with, when she put her mind to it.

That first day, they drove and drove and didn't think about turning back, stopping occasionally at roadside stands and gas stations. They talked some, but mostly listened to music. Sometimes, he would film, either because he wanted to or because she asked him to.

It wasn't until the sun was lowering in the sky behind them that she pulled into the parking lot of a motel outside of Bakersfield.

The desk clerk didn't bat an eye when they asked for a room. Madison, however, did, when Daggeron passed over a credit card and an ID. She didn't say anything, but the sheepish half-smile he gave her promised that he'd explain.

He did, once they got to the room with the one queen-sized bed because that's the only thing that the motel had available.

As fate would have it, he did have some connection to the human world. It had been some part of his training, all those years ago, to survive in her world without magic for a period of time. Turns out, he had made some investments that had only grown during the years he had been trapped and a frog. Madison had been a little unseated by him paying for the room, but then he had argued that it was her car and she had been paying for gas, so it leveled out in the end. Still, she insisted on paying for dinner at the little diner up the road, if only for her own pride.

And, that night, she didn't think twice about hauling his ass into bed next to her, when he stubbornly tried to sleep on the floor in a vain attempt to protect her honor. The look on his face had been well worth it.

"We'll both sleep much better this way," she said simply and that was that.

As it happened, Daggeron was a bit possessive in his sleep, which meant that Madison woke up with his arm around her and her back pressed firmly against his chest. She wasn't complaining actually. After all, there were far worse ways to wake up.

Jenji made a few pointed jokes from his lamp on the dresser. Both ignored him.

Once they had checked out and went back to the diner for breakfast, Madison pulled out the maps she had picked up at a gas station and spread them over half of the table. Maybe they had wandered aimlessly the day before, but they needed somewhere to go today.

"Let's go to Vegas," she said. "It's only a few hours away and I've never been."

"Neither have I," he agreed.

Today, he drove. It wasn't planned. He just took the keys and handed her the camera. Jenji stayed in the back seat and the cat genie didn't seem to mind. He had a decent view, after all.

Las Vegas was as bright as Madison expected it to be. They managed to find a decent motel further off the Strip and neither had a second thought about sharing a bed again. Though it was barely two in the afternoon, they tucked in for a few hours with some sandwiches and a movie.

That night, they hit the casinos, lost a few thousand dollars, and landed at an all-night diner at three in the morning. Sense was arguably starting to return by that point, when the exhaustion that they had put off for the last two days caught up with them. They were going to have to call back soon because, no doubt, the remaining team knew of their departure and had choice words for them. Vida would yell, Madison knew, because, of all of them, her sister would be the angriest.

Not because Madison left town (the need to get away, Vida would understand, since it had been the pink ranger who had the toll staying was taking on Madison as clearly as Daggeron), but because she left town without Vida.

But when she looks across the table, it's not that hard to see that he's come to similar realizations. Yet he still gives her a smile and, reaching across the table, he takes her hand in his, squeezing a bit. There was so much that she had unloaded onto him just recently and the only thing he wanted to do was to offer her comfort. He had thought only make sure that she was okay.

Hours later, once they'd gotten sleep, she had called home, ready to face the music.

Once Vida had worked the anger out of her system, she had turned into the supportive sister Madison knew and loved. She understood, after all. Xander and Chip were astounded that the two would leave town with no warning and Claire was sad that they hadn't said goodbye before they left. Toby, in his usual way, was flabbergasted, but her job was waiting for her when she got back, if she still wanted it. Leelee and Phineas passed along their love.

And not once did either sister raise the topic of their red ranger.

Instead, Madison just told her sister, "I'm starting to feel like me again."

Vida didn't question that. She just asked to speak with Daggeron.

Madison was a little worried as she watched her unexpected travel companion on the phone with her sister. Oh, his face was unreadable, but he also had years of experience in keeping his face in a calm mask. Finally though, a grin tugged at one corner of his lips and relief washed over her.

When he hung up the phone, he looked at her and said, "Vida told us to be safe, take the time that we need, and to not do anything she wouldn't do."

"Well," Madison said with a shrug, "it could be worse. At least she didn't tell us to get married while we're here."

That earned her an eye-roll from Daggeron and a comment from Jenji.

But the call home proved to be good, for the both of them. They had the approval of her sister and the remaining team was on their side. They weren't unreachable and, if need be, they could get back to Briarwood in an instant.

Yet they had no desire to get back soon.

They spent the rest of the day relaxing and walking around Vegas and talking, mostly about life and things. She was still struggling with coming to terms with not being the girl who waited and he was still learning how to live again after dedicating years of his life to their shared cause. Both had a lot of healing to do, but they didn't have to deal with it alone and that was a heartening thing.

And, that afternoon, they sparred.

Oh, neither used magic since this was a non-magical city they were in, but they could still match each other blow for blow. Her agility and ability to adapt kept him on his toes, while his years of experience and speed kept her from getting complacent.

By the time they made it back to the motel, both were tired and sore and unbelievably happy. It wasn't long before they had showered and figured out dinner. Then, over pizza and beer, they had planned what to do next.

Las Vegas was fun, but they had already done the casino thing and neither really wanted to go to the shows. At any rate, the magic acts would be dull to those who were actual magicians. So they poured over maps and discussed travel destinations.

So, when morning came, they drove east into the rising sun with a general idea of where they wanted to go and no real time line.

All along the southern half of the country, they drove at their leisure, stopping at tourist traps and small towns and roadside bars. They discovered that she was a whiz at pool and he was a deft hand at darts. When they needed entertainment, they played for money against those who didn't expect their abilities. Sometimes, they stayed a place for a few days and took in the local flavor. Usually, they only pulled in to stay the night and were gone with the rising sun. Occasionally, they would camp out under the stars, sitting up late and enjoying the silence of the world around them.

As always, her beloved camera caught their journey in bits and pieces, which she would edit together on her laptop and send back to her sister as little video postcards to their journey.

And they sparred regularly.

It was better than talking a lot of the time. By the time they closed in on Louisiana, it wasn't even a matter of fighting as much as it was an unspoken dialogue between them. They've learned the minutiae of each other's reactions, both conscious and unconscious, and can fluidly meld these reactions into their dance.

Madison noticed, somewhere in the heart of Texas, that this silent communication seeped out of their training and into everyday life.

She could tell when the memories of those years at war were weighing heavily on his heart and mind. For as much as he had shared with her, Daggeron still has a lot held close to the vest. Madison could easily extrapolate, based on her own experiences in their war, that he had lost too much and sacrificed nearly everything for the greater good. Now that they're safe and he has had the time to think, it's hard to adjust back to normal life and to a world that has changed so much.

He knew precisely when her memories of Nick have been triggered and that the causes of her frustrations at being his excuse to return to Briarwood have reached a boiling point. Daggeron knows she is angry that Nick put her on something of a pedestal and that he left her with the undesirable burden of providing him with a reason to come back. Madison needed to be given license to find her own way and not be required to stay behind because someone else wanted her to.

Somewhere in New Orleans, while they're listening to a jazz band, Madison put an arm around his waist and, as simple as that, his arm found its way around her should in return.

By that point, they'd gotten used to each other's touches. Between sparring, sleeping in the same bed, and all of the other little things that they've developed of late, they're a physical pair. But there's something different about this and it's not lost on either one of them.

Later, back in the privacy of their hotel room, he made the first move with a kiss. Her response was almost instant and it was only the grace of God – or the cat genie who was been tagging along on their journey – that they could not consummate anything in that moment. Madison was just a heartbeat away from locking Jenji in the closet and Daggeron obviously had the same thought, but that wouldn't be fair to the genie.

Still, they've changed by then. She wasn't sure when or where that happened, but they had. It was love and Madison knew that in her heart of hearts, even if she wasn't going to use that particular word yet.

When they pulled away from New Orleans, heading off towards the East Coast, Madison found herself thinking of Nick less and less. When she did, it wasn't out of anger or frustration. Instead, it was from the perspective of someone who has moved along with their life. Maybe, if things had been different and he had stayed, she could have seen where things had gone between the two of them. But he had left and, outside of the brief visits back, the calls, the letters, and the emails, she had barely seen him since they had defeated the Master. The past was in the past and she was not going to dwell on what might have been.

They didn't really talk about it, but Madison saw that Daggeron was becoming more comfortable with this new world. As they wound their way up the East Coast, there was a change in him and it was so clear that he was putting even more distance between his past and the future. He was becoming more active in finding comfort in her and he was certainly not shy about offering touches and kisses and support without hesitation. Oh, the man was still a possessive sleeper, but she did not want that to change because she likes the way he reaches for her without thinking and relishes in the safety that he provides instinctively.

Oh, it was still not easy though. These things never are.

Madison and Daggeron both have their memories of war. Like it or not, they were both soldiers and, even though they won and saved the day, they both lost something along the way and had different triggers. For her, it was Nick leaving and, for him, it was the newness of both the magical and non-magical worlds.

Somewhere around D.C., she realized that, if and when they got back to Briarwood, she was going to buckle down on pursuing film-making as a career. It was about time that dream got its due attention and she was going to follow that dream, wherever it took her.

It was in Boston that Daggeron raised the topic of the future, their future, for the first time. Not the immediate future of their road trip, but the long-term future.

"Do you think you'll want to stay there, once we get back?" he asked cautious, when the idea of returning to Briarwood was floated as they were walking along the river.

"No," she admitted, stopping to lean on the railing and looking across the river to Cambridge. He drew alongside her. "I want to be a filmmaker, Daggeron, and, in order to do that, I don't think that I can't stay there. What about you?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him exhale deeply.

"There are magical communities all over the world, Maddie. Now that the Master has been defeated, I can fulfill my duties to the magical world anywhere," he said, looking over to her. For a moment, he hesitated and Madison couldn't help but smile at him. He looked down at his hands, then back to her. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is that wherever you go, I'll follow. If you want," he added hastily.

Madison reached over and took his hand in hers. "I'd like that."

Gently, he leaned over and kissed her.

As she turned into him, a thought danced its way across her mind and, once there, refused to be banished. Excitement coursed through her, when Madison could give words to that thought.

When they broke apart, she asked all too quietly, "Marry me?"

"Yes," he answered, a breath later, just as quietly.

And that was that.

They stayed in Boston for a full week after that and married there. Once they had gotten the paperwork dealt with, paying a little bit extra to rush it through, they were married by a Justice of the Peace at City Hall. Madison made sure that someone had her camera and they had snuck Jenji in, the genie quietly peeking his head out of his lamp and watching from the top of her bag. Their team and her family would never forgive them if there was video. Well, if they didn't forgive her for marrying out of town and for not inviting them.

But they weren't going to wait to get back to California to get married and both knew that there would not be anyone else for them.

Madison did wear white. She had made a point of sneaking away to a store early one morning and found a cocktail dress that suited her figure. If there had been some accents of blue, she would not going to tell anyone. Daggeron certainly noticed on the day of and the grin he gave her, when he realized that she had included her color, was well worth her efforts.

She had certainly not upset when she saw that he was worked his own color into his outfit for the day. The dark creamy color of his jacket looked golden in certain lights and suited him very well.

The ceremony itself was brief, a simple exchange of vows and rings. When the Justice proclaimed by the power beset in him by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that they were married, Madison couldn't be happier. The smile Daggeron gave her in that moment reflected that he felt the exact same way. Their kiss was warm, though brief, his hands cupping her face as she slipped her arms around him. It was when they were walking out, marriage license firmly in hand, that she realized that she had gone and done it.

She married someone and they love each other, well and properly.

Later, so much later, when they were lying in bed, limbs entwined and clad only in their fresh wedding rings, Madison felt a something settle upon her. She didn't know what the thing was, but that feeling was warm and familiar and comfortable and she was not going to argue with it.

The next morning, she woke to find Daggeron lying on his side and watching her, a hand lazily tracing unseen circles on her side.

"Good morning, husband," she said.

"Good morning, wife," he answered.

Madison Rocca never thought that she would be a wife. Yet, here she was and she did not regret this decision.

They spent the day holed up in their hotel room, splurging on room service and enjoying one another. The hotel sent up a bottle of champagne when informed of the marriage. Jenji, wise in his own way, made a point of spending most of his time hiding away in his lamp and Madison quietly made a note to do something nice for him later on.

Somewhere in the early afternoon, she pulled out her laptop and looked over the footage from their wedding. A part of her was tempted to edit the footage and send it back to her sister as a video email, but Vida would find them and kill them for getting married when she wasn't there. Instead, she saved the footage in a very special file and called Vida for a check-in, careful to avoid that particular topic.

Daggeron folded himself around her during the call. When Vida figured out that he was there, Madison put the phone onto speaker and Vida grilled him to make sure that he was taking good care of her sister.

"Madison is perfectly safe, Vida," he told the pink ranger, the good humor so evident in his voice, "and she is fully capable of taking care of herself, you know."

"Yeah, but if something happens to her, I'm still blaming you," Vida shot back, equal amounts of good humor in her voice.

"And I am still here too, V," Madison added pointedly.

"I know and you have all of our permission to kick his ass, if you need to," Vida replied.

She laughed and glanced at her new husband with a grin on her lips. "I'll keep that in mind."

Daggeron scowled playfully at her, but said nothing.

"When are you coming home?" her sister finally asked.

Madison and Daggeron exchanged a look, silence hanging between them briefly. Quietly, he squeezed her hand, offering the strength that she needed.

"Soon," she answered at last. "We're in Boston now."

"Okay." There was something that Vida wasn't telling them, but Madison didn't want to push her sister. Whatever wasn't said was fine today. "We miss you both."

"We miss you too," Madison answered. "We'll see you soon, yeah?"

There was a certain heaviness in her heart, when they hung up the phone with Vida. Daggeron didn't say anything. Rather, he pulled her in tight for a hug, letting her bury her face into his neck.

They didn't have to talk about it, but both knew that it was time. It was time to go back to Briarwood. That night, they didn't talk about the return trip. Instead, they spent together, quietly drawing strength and comfort from one another.

When morning came, they checked out of the hotel, loaded up her car, and pointed their car south and west. Jenji was nestled happily in the back seat among the random trinkets and souvenirs that they had picked up over the last few weeks. Madison fished out another one of Vida's mix tapes and popped it in.

 _Here Comes the Sun_ came on and she couldn't help but laugh, glancing over at her husband. He had the camera in his hand again and it was pointed at her again, catching her in the morning light. She only shook her head and turned her attention back to the road and he turned pointed the camera to their surroundings.

Leaving Boston was a lot different from leaving Briarwood.

This time, at least, they had an end destination in mind, though the route that they took was different.

Oh, the northern part of the country was a different landscape that the south. Still, they drove and talked and laughed and filmed. Chasing the sun, they didn't hurry along, even if they had people waiting for them.

They stopped at roadside stands and bars. He showed his hand at darts and she was happy to clean up a few unsuspecting victims at pool. Jenji had a running commentary in the backseat as they continued west. They had their memories but they weren't running from them now and they had each other to lean on.

Sometimes, they stopped at a place for a night or two. Other times, they blew right through town and found a quiet little campsite to pass the night watching the stars come out. They saw the tourist traps and the historic places that they had missed on their eastbound trip.

She edited bits and pieces together when they stopped at motels for a night, cobbling together a record of this adventure. He lay next to her, offering comments to things she might have missed.

Eventually, after weeks and months on the road, the trio of wanderers found themselves facing a very familiar sight.

It was a sunny afternoon when she parked the car down the street from Rock Porium.

For a moment, they both considered not getting out of the car, not ending this journey that they had undertaken together. But one look at each other and they knew it was time. He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles.

Her wedding ring glinted a bit in the sunlight.

By chance, everyone was working, when they walked in. One step inside the store and Madison could have swore that it was as if she had never left.

Vida was in the back, happily providing music for the store and dancing around with such abandon. Xander was grinning and flirting with female customers. Chip was eagerly bridging the gap between humans and the magical folk. Leelee and Phineas were bouncing off of one another in that strange way that made total sense, once you got to know both. Toby was back in his office and, from what Madison could tell, Nikki was with him.

It was Vida who saw them first, screaming gleefully as she launched herself from her position at the back of the store and dashing madly to the door to launch herself at her sister. Madison laughed as she embraced Vida, holding her twin tightly. She felt Daggeron's hand on her back, steadying her from the force of Vida's hug. Seconds later, when she had disentangled herself from her sister, Vida threw an arm around Daggeron and welcomed him back in her easy way.

More hugs followed quickly as first Chip and Xander, then Leelee and Phineas and Toby and Nikki all welcomed them back to town with smiles and good cheer.

When they noticed the rings, the team was generally floored. The boys didn't know what to say, Leelee told them that they were cute together, and Vida threatened bodily harm.

Old Madison might have flushed at this, but new Madison was certainly not ashamed by her marriage. She took Daggeron's hand and told them, quite plainly, that this was love and they were happy together. Vida, at least, seemed to be appeased by that.

Scratch that, Vida was ecstatic by the news.

Oh, yes, she was angry that they didn't wait until they got back to Briarwood to get married and she made damn sure that Madison knew that their parents weren't going to be happy when they realized she came back to town with a husband. That was to be expected and Madison had already considered that her parents might not take the news well. She had already floated the idea of a very serious significant other with her mom the last time she had talked to her.

With all of the changes in Briarwood of late, Madison being in a relationship with one of her teammates was probably the least worrisome of the things that could have been dropped on her parents by surprise.

They made their way back to Rootcore eventually. Claire was there and so was Nick, Leanbow, and Udonna. The latter three had arrived back in town about a month after Madison, Daggeron, and Jenji had left. It was a given fact that Madison was going to have to face Nick and settle the whatever-it-was that there had been between them.

At least she didn't have to do it alone now.

And, at any rate, she'd left Nick's baby blanket behind with a note for him saying that what she was doing was good for her. She hadn't left him any promises or expectations. When she and Daggeron had left, Madison wasn't in a place to put down her feelings in words and so couldn't have offered him any consolation for whatever heartache she might have left in her wake at the time.

Whatever anger and frustration she had expected wasn't there.

Udonna had offered them hugs and warm congratulations on their nuptials, however unexpected they had been. Madison had told her that the marriage had been a surprise, even to them, but it was what they wanted. Leanbow had been kind, offering handshakes to them both. She didn't know Daggeron's former mentor quite as well as Udonna, but Daggeron spoke highly of the man and the way they interacting bespoke long years of friendship that transcended the teacher-student relationship.

Nick was a horse of a different color. He had given them smiles and light hugs and echoed the congratulations expected. The way that his eyes had lingered on her for a moment too long or the certain sadness there didn't go unnoticed, but his best wishes seemed properly genuine.

Oh, there were pieces that they were going to have to pick up eventually, but Madison was glad that they had dealt with the whole team in one fell swoop.

That night, once they had excused themselves from Rootcore, gracefully turning down Udonna's offer to stay the night, they turned their attention to her parents. That was the last obstacle they were going to have to face in this return to town.

Angelina and Eric Rocca didn't take the news of the marriage particularly well. Even if the two had already dealt with the magic of the town and had been eased into the idea of Madison's relationship thanks to Vida, they weren't particularly happy about an unexpected marriage. The fact that Daggeron was decidedly one of the good guys and a knight to boot did not help at all in his favor.

At last, Madison faced the anger and yelling that she had expected much sooner.

There were tears in her eyes when she stormed out of her parents' house, Daggeron hot on her heels. He pulled her into an embrace outside. She cried into his shirt, knowing that this was a bed she had made for herself and that the trust her parents had in her was probably shattered irrevocably.

By the time they dragged themselves back to the apartment that she and Vida shared, both were happy to see the pizza and beer and the team.

Maybe this wasn't the reception that she had envisioned when she was a little girl, but it would do. No one pushed them to talk about the trip and they weren't surprised when the two excused themselves early, claiming honest-to-God exhaustion.

"What a homecoming," he whispered to her, as they curled up in her too-small bed.

"It was inevitable."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "But we can start planning now."

"Yeah, we can."

Days and days later, as the dust started to settled and they regained their footing in Briarwood, she turned her attention to the footage that they had recorded over the whole trip. Looking at it comprehensively gave her an unexpected gift. Vida wasn't bothered when she attacked this sudden project with an almost single-minded fervor. Daggeron made sure she stayed alive and fed and occasionally pulled her away to spar and to clear her mind.

It was a week and a half after their return to town and she showed him the rough cut of the movie – their movie, the movie of them healing and growing together.

When the screen went to dark and she was sitting in that awkward silence awaiting his thoughts, Madison felt a moment of doubt.

But that doubt was quickly banished when he swept her up into an embrace. His lips found hers.

"It's perfect," he said.

Years later, when she had worked her way up in the industry to become a well-respected and well-renowned documentary and independent film director, few people could say that they had been there when her first film had showed a regional film festival and had garnered acclaim and modest success. It had been her foot in the proverbial door. Everything else from there had been icing on the cake.

Only one other person knew that all this ensuing success stemmed from one night with wine and two people opening their hearts to each other – and Daggeron certainly wasn't going to tell anyone.

 _Well, I hope you all like this! It was a labor of love! Please review and let me know what you thought of it._


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